Systems Thinking

 

            The illustration of the body of Christ being an actual body with individual parts is a great framework for understanding systems thinking for three different reasons. First, within the body there are a variety of systems but all of them work together harmoniously. This is and should be how the church functions. While individual ministries of the church may have different objectives and serve different purposes, at the end of the day, the goal across all of them is to bring Christ glory, edify the church, and spread the gospel. Second, just like when parts of our body have to compensate when another part is hurting, other systems within a church will feel it when one system is struggling. This extends beyond systems too and is true regarding the lives of individuals. For instance, a few years ago a young lady died within my church following medical complications while recovering from the coronavirus. In the weeks that followed, every member of the church was burdened with sympathy and compassion for the girl’s parents who had to bury their second child in three years. It was no surprise that this tragedy affected everyone because she was a part of the church body and her absence left others to reel with the pain and also compensate for the hole her death created. Finally, the metaphor of the body relates to systems thinking because just like in the body, if you focus all your attention on certain parts, other parts will suffer. It can be easy to feed the parts of the church body that are excelling, like a vibrant youth ministry or an outreach ministry that is bringing new faces into the church weekly. However, a struggling ministry to senior citizens or a men’s ministry that isn’t maintain engagement may not get the help and resources they need. This doesn’t mean that all resources should be reallocated towards the members that are struggling. However, when we have a stomachache, we don’t go drink a few Red Bulls to boost our energy and mental state, we take Pepto Bismol or something that will address the pain point. The same is true of the system within and organization.

            This last point ties directly into a leader’s effort to ensure all systems within a ministry are aligned with the vision and mission. Addressing the issues that may arise across the body as they come up is important. An infection in your arm may not seem to be a big deal but if not treated, it could eventually affect the whole arm or body by spreading. There’s a church in my area that unfortunately didn’t recognize this truth. During a Sunday school class, one of the pastors began teaching a series that subtly began to deconstruct the faith by minimizing aspects of the Bible and casting doubts on long held beliefs. Those within the class didn’t say anything and before too the long the teaching was being absorbed across the church and eventually lead to a complete split and some members being led completely astray. The consequences of not challenging or addressing the little inaccuracies as soon as they surfaced resulted in terrible circumstances for the church and its members. If a leader wants to guarantee the longevity or their ministry or ministry, they must be vigilant to squander anything that could bring greater harm to the body. In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about it being better to lose part of your body rather than the whole thing going to hell. The same is true of the church body, it’s critical to heal or cut off a part of the body when it isn’t aligning with God’s mission rather than for the whole to be corrupted.